Superman is an incredibly difficult character to adapt to the screen and tell compelling stories about. He’s unwaveringly good and kind, and often overwhelmingly powerful, and getting caught up on those traits can lead to an adaptation that is extremely boring. Yet, there have been a few good takes on the character. The best ones are versions of Superman where he is also endearingly human, even if he’s an alien. He loves, he hurts, he makes mistakes. Those versions of the Man of Steel, the ones more about the man than the steel, are usually pretty spectacular. Happily, director James Gunn seems to understand this completely, and his Superman soars as a result.

This iteration of the character, played to perfection by David Corenswet, is in his third year of crime fighting and has recently stepped into something of a geopolitical mess by stopping the invasion of a country, Jarhanpur, by its neighbor, Boravia. The act is seen by some as the caped crusader overstepping his bounds, and he has to navigate the delicate situation both as the hero, Superman, and also the man, Clark Kent. Complicating his problems further are his burgeoning relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and the villainous plans of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

To get the obvious and probably most important question out of the way, the cast is unbelievably good. Corenswet embodies the two sides of the character, Superman and Clark, well, and brings a real earnestness to both. He makes Superman feel like a person and gives a performance that is relatable as much as it is fantastical. There is no question in my mind, David Corenswet is Superman.

His foe, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, is equally compelling. Hoult seemed like a strange choice when the casting was announced, but he puts all doubts to rest with a chillingly evil portrayal. It’s Brosnahan, however, who almost steals the whole show as Lois Lane. She’s funny, confident, brilliant, and more than once pushes the movie forward through sheer determination and charisma. For as much as Corenswet is going to be rightfully praised for his role, it may well be Brosnahan actually holding this film together.

The rest of the cast is also fantastic, from Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, to the Daily Planet staff, there’s entirely too many talented people, doing entirely too good of work, to name.

Unfortunately, the huge cast also highlights the major flaw in Superman: it’s far too crowded. It falls into the trap that basically every movie trying to launch a cinematic universe has since Iron Man. Namely, it tries to set up so many characters and so much world-building all at once, that the core story suffers a bit. For as masterfully as all the plotlines and characters are handled, some of the actual Superman storyline winds up rushed to fit everything in. A slightly trimmed down and more focused storyline would have been welcome.

That said, Gunn does know how to get the most out of an ensemble cast, as he’s proven with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so the overstuffed plot never truly sinks the movie. It’s navigated about as well as one could hope. It helps that the Gunn’s trademark visual flair, style, and solid CGI are all present to distract from the clutter. The movie is beautiful and very easy to watch. The soundtrack is also excellent, a mix of callbacks and John Williams’ original score combined with eclectic rock and punk songs that give the film a classic, yet modern feel.

There’s no denying that some parts of Superman don’t quite work. There are too many characters, too much going on, and some of it fails to land among the chaos. Enough, though, works perfectly that it’s hard to call it anything other than a resounding success. By choosing to ground the story in Clark’s humanity, and finding the best possible actor to pull that off, Gunn’s Superman flies higher than expected, breathing optimistic life into his new cinematic universe.